Best 22LR for plinking.

I couldn't disagree with you more LK. I think my comment about bolt's vs. semi's is dead on. You can spend all the money you want on a 10/22. Spend the same on a good bolt action and it will outshoot the semi. Show me a $300 10/22 that will hold 1/2 inch groups at 100. Thats what my $300 savage bolt does, factory out of the box.

The OP asked for this:

I want reliability, accuracy, and affordability
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The best I can tell, with the 10/22, you only get 2 outta 3. But hey, for the money, that aint bad.
 
Show me a $300 10/22 that will hold 1/2 inch groups at 100. Thats what my $300 savage bolt does, factory out of the box.
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Show me another $300 bolt gun that will do that! What you've got is either a 1 in a million gun OR A LOT OF BS. I'm not there so I can't make that call. But 99.99% of factory bolt .22s won't do half that well as you are claiming and to consider 1/2" groups at 100 yards as the bench mark for accuracy in a .22 is bunk and is unreasonable.

Accuracy is a relative term. Most folk would term any 2 MOA (1" groups or under at 50) as an accurate .22. Some would even say a gun that shoots 1"-1.5" groups at 50 yards is accurate and that is most definitely acceptable for most "plinkin". 10/22's definetly fit into that level. When you start talking bug holes at 50 and 1" groups at 100 you are not talking accurate, you are talking super accurate and target grade.

LK
 
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There are more accurate 22's, but of the five 10-22's in this house all would shoot right around 1" @ 50 yards from the factory. Good enough for a plinker. You can leave them as is and have a good plinker that is probably the most reliable, durable 22 out there.

Or, you can modify them into anything you want. Two of the 5 have aftermarket barrels and stocks. One is set up with a lightweight Tactical Solutions barrel. It is no more accurate than factory, but only weighs about 5 lbs scoped. The other is set up with a heavy, accurate barrel. It will shoot 1/2" groups at 100 with the right ammo and a windless day. Yea, it wasn't cheap, considering the cost of the factory rifle and aftermarket barrel, etc. But I like it better than anything offered from the factory from anyone else.

If you like something else there are several good ones to pick from, but the Ruger 10-22 is never a bad choice.
 
Show me another $300 bolt gun that will do that! What you've got is either a 1 in a million gun OR A LOT OF BS.
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Wrong on both counts. Maybe you need to get out more. Ask any other Mark II owner and see what they think. I KNOW what mine will do and I'm a middle of the road shooter at best. I'd be happy to meet up at a range and back up my claims. If you can outshoot me with a $300 10/22, then not only will I eat my words, I'll give you the Mark II.

1/2" groups at 100 yards as the bench mark for accuracy in a .22 is bunk and is unreasonable.
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Maybe for you. Maybe for 10/22 owners. Seems quite normal for a target accurate .22.

I'm not saying a 10/22 is a bad rifle. I'd say its one of the best semi's out there. But by no means would I consider it target accurate out of the box.
 
Maybe for you. Maybe for 10/22 owners. Seems quite normal for a target accurate .22.

I'm not saying a 10/22 is a bad rifle. I'd say its one of the best semi's out there. But by no means would I consider it target accurate out of the box.
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The OP didn't ask for a "target accurate .22" did he? Neither do most, if any, other shooters when looking for a plinkin .22. And I never claimed that a $300 10/22 would shoot 1/2" groups at 100 yards. That would be BS if I did. What I said is most, if not all, $300 bolt guns won't either. What I will guarantee that a 10/22 with a couple hundred dollars in of the rights mods will shoot with the average $300 Savages and most other boltguns in that price range.

Believe me, I like the Savage bolt guns and recommended them above. But to say a 10/22 isn't accurate because it doesn't have target grade accuracy is like I said, unreasonable.
 
I agree with 9mm,,,

My Mossberg 702 Plinkster is minute of tuna can all day long at 100 yards,,,
I have a Cabela's 4 power scope on it and it performs very well.

I use Federal bulk packs and it eats them with gusto,,,
I lent the rifle to a friend so he could attend an Appleseed shoot,,,
He and his son went through 2 Federal 550 bulk packs and had no failures.

I'm not saying it's the ultimate .22 semi out there,,,
But for pure plinking pleasure it will be difficult to beat this $109.95 rifle.

Aarond
 
Just for reference:

http://nbrsa.org/sites/default/files/rimfire_records.htm

Any .22 rimfire that consistently groups .5" at 100 yards for 5 shots is in the world record class....

The OP asked for a plinking .22 rifle, could we possibly get back on topic?

My recommendations are :

Budget bolt:
Marlin or savage
Mid priced bolts:
Cz 452, ruger 77/22
Auto loader:
Marlin 795, 60 or the ruger 10/22
 
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I absolutely adore my Henry lever action. Racking the lever is a lot of fun and it really makes cans dance!

I will say however that a 10/22 with TechSights would be great for general plinking and riflemanship training.
 
As far as .5 groups at 100 yds. goes, the best I've ever shot at a 100 yds. was about 1.5" benchrest five shot group and that was with my Anschutz Model 54 Sporter with a 4-12 scope It was with Eley Tenex and the wind and other conditions were perfect. I wouldn't bet that I could do it all that often.
 
I really like my accurized 10-22 bull-barrel for shooting offhand, but prefer my scoped Marlin 39A for walkabouts on our 140 acre woodlot.

The 39A is very accurate, easy to shoot offhand and holds 17 LRs. The action stays clean because not being a semi-auto, doesn't get all gunked up with carbon, etc.. It's also much easier to clean than the 10-22, using the take-down screw.

Unless in the immediate area of game, I don't usually carry a round in the chamber, relying on the speed and quietness of the lever action to feed a round and cock the hammer if I want to plink.

The scope is a .22LR-specific scope from Cabelas. There are two small crosswires for use when shooting at 75 and 100 yards when sighted in at 50 yards. They work pretty well when using high-speed ammo.
 
As the owner of 2ea Ruger 10/22s since 1974, 1ea Marlin Model 60 since 1983, 1ea old High Standard Sport King Pump since 1963, and 1ea Henry levergun since 2009 I can say hands down that the choice I'd recommend for the OP's stated uses would be the Henry. My second choice would be the Henry too.

I've had 22 rifles since 1959 and they are all fun to plink with but since I got my little Henry early last year, I don't even bother to take out the others anymore. Why? My Henry is more accurate than my stock 10/22 by a lot, it's more fun to shoot than my Marlin Model 60, and it's more compact and easy to carry than my old long barreled High Standard Sport Kink pump.

I got the basic H001 model because I wanted to have a bit of fun customizing it but if I were to get a second one, I'd get a H001T Frontier model with the octagon barrel for a nice small game hunting / target shooting / plinking rifle. I'd add a Marbles tang sight to it and have a ball.

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definately the 10/22 if you plan on modding or customizing. If not, then the GSG5 is a fun gun to shoot out of the box
 
is magazine capacity important? you can get drums and stuff for the 10/22. i had one but it wasnt reliable. i prefer my walther p22 target model for 22lr fun, but its a pistol. those 22 pumps are lots of fun and accurate, cant recall the brand i shot. i do reccomend the AR7. for those that arent familiar, it's a takedown rifle that the barrel and action fit into the buttstock and floats. nifty gun to put in a backpack. i got mine for canoe camping on the river.
 
I've never seen a Ruger 10/22 nor Marlin 60 with an aperture sight.

Even my Savage .22 which was built in the 30s or 40s has an open sight, and the bead post is much better than what my Yugo Mauser has.

All I seem to understand is that my Garand, Enfield #4s/#5s all have nice apertures, therefore making my shots look much better than what my limited skill should produce.
Do .22s not work well with aperture sights?
 
Take a look at CZ's line of rimfire rifles. They are accurate, reliable, well made and easy on the wallet.
 
I bought a Marlin 981T for my oldest son when he was 15. He loved it then. We later put a 4-12 scope on it and he still loved it. He's 23 now and I don't think he'd sell the thing unless the offer was truly ridiculous. Partly because it was his first firearm and partly because he still loves to shoot it. I'm not particularly fond of the synthetic stock, but really like the lines of a tube fed .22lr. YMMV...
 
I wish the "Prove-It" website was still active, Steve Parks has stopped making entries. He designed a target that had 10 aiming points and challenged folks to shoot 10 consecutive 5-shot groups from 50 yards with their rimfire rifles.

People can still view the page and it's very interesting because it has scans of each target and the average group sizes shot. I shot a few targets and was able to average .37" with my "used" $175, self-accurized 10-22, with a $159 (at the time) Shilen barrel. (A guy named John Picher has some 10-22 Accurizing Tips that have since been published on RimfireCentral.com that I used.)

Anyway, that 10-22 has outshot many bolt-actions, especially those costing $300 or less, but it took a lot of work and some really good Lapua ammo to do it, on a windless day.

That said, the 10-22 can shoot outstanding accuracy, but I wish it were as easy to clean as a bolt action rifle, or my Bersa model 223 pistol, or my 39A. Rifle actions shouldn't have to be taken out of the stock to be cleaned from the breech end!!!!
JP
 
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